Port Lincoln – Mary Ann Steggles

Day 5 Welcome to Winter…Girri is a BIG girl!

6 December 2025

Good Morning Everyone,

I am so happy that Toby and Hugo Yugo’s little kissing/licking fest touched your hearts. It is really easy to see why they bring such joy to our lives! SP wrote, “Mary Ann, you are my Santa! The Toby-HY love fest… I’ve only watched it three times… so far. xoxo”

Brock reminded me today that it is ‘essential’ to find a way to have water for the outdoor animals that we feed. This is easy if you live in an area where it never gets below freezing. Here, it can be problematic. You MUST be careful so as not to cause the little birds to freeze their feet and feathers. Because of these issues, I am reluctant to use a heater in the bird baths if there is any chance their little feet will stick and be pulled off! Luckily for Brock, there are two dishes in his heated feeding station – one for wet food and the other for water. He had several long drinks today!

The small sparrows and Starlings were busy eating snow. They don’t get as much as they would if there were a bird bath for them, but they do get some hydration, which is really important if you are feeding them.

Two articles with some different points of view.

Should You Provide Birds Water in Winter?Download

Offer Water to Wildlife in Winter Download

I hope you did not worry about Gabby being away from her nest and leaving Beau to incubate for approximately 24 hours. This is ‘Gabby’s Way’. Every year, she takes a break before the eggs hatch. The first time I saw this panic set in, I thought she had died, leaving Samson to care for their family, but no. Gabby was having a ‘spa time’ – I liked to call it. Gabby is now home, and Beau was so happy to get off those eggs, he flew off the nest when he caught her flying in!

Beautiful Gabby back in the nest.

I decided to take a sheet out of Gabby’s playbook today while Anne was caring for Don, Toby, and The Girls.

You probably know someone who was or is a caregiver to another individual – their partner, a parent, another family member, or a friend. It is stressful. There is no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Caregivers are often ‘tired beyond belief’ and rarely take time for themselves. You might know someone who cared for another person and actually died before them. It happens more often than you might think. As Don’s illness progresses, I am trying hard to make sure that my life is a bit more balanced. So, going back to Gabby…I gave myself a ‘treat’ today. I spent the afternoon at the Dior counter today getting a ‘refresh’ from a wonderful woman who has worked for this French cosmetics company for 35 years. It was fun – and a reminder that each of us needs to create time to relax and laugh!

Moving back to our birds. As you know, Heidi and I have been monitoring osprey nests for mortality numbers and causes. Heidi sent this to me today and I thought that you might be interested, too.

“This was the presentation held yesterday on Virginia Eastern Shore by Dr. Watts and Ben Wurst. The presentation itself is only about 67 minutes long, and is very informative.https://youtu.be/bR8byYABd8s?s

A lot of takeaways. VV’s nests all had abandoned eggs. But, Watts’ data indicated the majority of nest failures were from brood reduction due to a lack of menhaden. Most of the eggs hatched, but most chicks didn’t survive. Interesting.”

Overfishing has led to the death of 60,000 penguins! The Guardian gives us the details. “More sustainable fisheries management could improve the penguins’ chances of survival. Conservationists are taking action on the ground, by building artificial nests to shelter chicks, managing predators and hand-rearing adults and chicks who need rescuing. Commercial purse-seine fishing, which involves encircling a school of fish with a large net and then trapping them by closing the bottom, has been banned around the six largest penguin-breeding colonies in South Africa.

It is hoped this will “increase access to prey for penguins at critical parts of their life cycle”, said the study co-author Dr Azwianewi Makhado, from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment in South Africa.”

60,000 African penguins starved to death after sardine numbers collapsed – studyhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/dec/05/african-penguins-starve-to-death-south-africa-sardine-population-aoe?CMP=share_btn_url

“African Penguins” by BasL is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

I don’t know about you, but my calendar is counting down to the arrival of the ospreys in the UK! Of course, there is a big gold star at the beginning of April to remind me to be on the lookout for Iris’s return to Missoula, Montana.

Lots of couples are incubating. Eagles and Albatross.

You can watch the Royal Albatross Royal Cam Pair, BOK and WYL, in New Zealand. If you are not aware, the letters relate to the coloured identification bands on their legs. BOK (female) is Blue-Orange-Black with ‘K’ being for Black. WYL (male) is White-Yellow-Lime.

Today, the couple were reunited as they switched incubation duties. The note under the video reads: “WYL returns to the Plateau nest site to give his mate BOK a well-earned break from incubation. Watch him enter from the left of the frame to greet her, and after a brief reunion, BOK lifts off and hands over nest duties. Following a few vocal exchanges with the neighbors, she heads back out to sea. Join us live as we follow their journey through the 2025–26 breeding season! RoyalCam was set up in January 2016 by the Department of Conservation and the Cornell Lab has been collaborating with DOC since 2019 to bring the cam to life. To learn more while watching, view the cam at https://www.doc.govt.nz/royalcam“

At Port Lincoln, Dad was on the barge during the early morning hours having a nap. The camera panned to the old barge but no ospreys were visible.

Girri is such a character. She has even been incubating the remaining egg in the scrape on and off!

Just look at those juvenile feathers coming in!

Girri is a BIG girl.

There has been no news of any peregrine falcons from the CBD of Melbourne coming into care. This is great news!

Liberty and Guardian have been at the Redding Eagles nest.

More eagle news on Monday!

Signing off with Hawk Mountain’s migratory count for the week of 3 December. Osprey count way down. Bald Eagles up. Sharp-shinned Hawks down along with many others. My goodness…but a growth in Broad-winged haws.

It isn’t just at Hawk Mountain that some species numbers are beginning to plummet. In the UK, recognizing this horrific act, people are opting to name streets after our amazing birds in order that they not be forgotten.

Streets named after birds in Britain on rise as species’ populations plummethttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/dec/05/street-names-birds-britain-rise-populations-plummet?CMP=share_btn_url

I don’t need to tell you that Toby and The Girls make my life worth living.

After a day of frolicking in the snow, there is nothing nicer than napping on a toy duck.

Thank you so much for being with us today. We hope to have you with us again tomorrow!

Thank you to Heidi for sending us the link to that presentation on the Ospreys with Dr Watts and to SP for allowing me to quote them. I am also grateful to the owners of the streaming cams – Charles Sturt University, Port Lincoln Osprey, American Eagle Foundation, and NZ Dept of Conservation/Cornell Bird Lab – where I took my screen captures today and to the authors of the articles on providing water for wildlife in winter, The Guardian for covering the death of the African Penguins or OpenVerse for the image of the African Penguins.

Sea Eaglet fledges…late Saturday in Bird World

25 October 2025

Good Evening Everyone!

Late Breaking News: A couple of hours ago, the oldest of Mum and Dad’s sea eaglets attempted to fly up to the branch to be with Lady and did not make it. The sea eaglet is on the floor of the Olympic forest and is being monitored by WIRES. Deborah Victoriana gives us the news in her FB post:

We had our first really hard frost during the wee hours of Wednesday, the 22nd of October and another the following night. Not wanting to pound the point too hard about how much our climate has changed, but when I moved to Canada, we often anticipated that the first frost in August would kill the garden flowers. Even so, you might get sick of me saying how much I am dreading winter this year. Is it because I am a year older? Or is it because there is a growing puppy that is now—gosh, time does melt—getting on to nine months old and needs to be outside walking several times a day? I used to love bundling up and trudging through the nature centre in the dead of winter. Now all I want to do is bundle up with the log burning, warming the snug, reading a good book with Toby cuddled up next to me.

The garden is busier than ever in the morning. It is comforting to sip tea after breakfast while counting the squirrels, the Crows, and the Blue Jays, realising that everyone is present and accounted for. The Starlings come around 3:30 to eat dog and cat kibble, and dear Brock shows up at least twice, if not three times, during the day, all the while trying to keep out of Toby’s sight. Life is good despite my grumbling…it is, as many of you would say, all first-world problems. I have a comfortable home; it is warm, there is food, and I can go to the doctor whenever needed without fear of a bill showing up in the post! I am lucky to be able to afford to feed all the animals in the garden, along with Toby and The Girls. Many just dream of being able to afford a pet, while some have had to give theirs up due to rising costs. Grateful is the word. The joy in life is not about money or buying ‘stuff’ (oh, to have finally almost decluttered everything) but in the small, simple joys of everyday life.

I read a very interesting blog post on the growing interest in hobbies and it reminded me of the ‘Back to the Land Movement’ (in part) of my generation. You might enjoy reading about the resurgence of hobbies like knitting and embroidery and the move to get away from social media. I found it fascinating. Perhaps you will, too.

the grandma hobby renaissance Download

Before we check in on the nests, the Bald Eagles continue to gather in one of my favourite spots, Hecla Island. Oh, I wish I were up there to see them hanging around the Marina.

So, let’s check in on our favourite raptors!

Most of the chatter is about the Bald Eagle nests coming on line or the raptor couples working away for their future getting those nests just perfect for little ones.

There has been concern about one of Jackie’s eyes and the folks in Big Bear Valley have been keeping good track of her and any issues. The latest post gives much clarity and relief as it appears that her eye might be improving according to Big Bear Lake Bald Eagles FB.

Our dear Shadow! Then and now.

In the mailbox was this from ‘B’. I knew that you would be as excited to check out that video – which I had seen years ago but not recently – of a young, a very young, Akecheta!

‘B’ writes: “In the West End chat today there was mention of a video of the banding of Akecheta in 2016. The video shows Dr. Sharpe fetching Akecheta from the Los Pinos nest and attaching his band and wing tags. Not all that exciting, but I just had to watch to see our handsome Akecheta in his youth. You might be interested in taking a peek if you haven’t seen it. I had to watch the whole thing (!!!), but just seeing the opening retrieval and glancing at him being held for banding and then returned to the nest would be more than enough for most people!

Elsewhere, I found a Facebook discussion from 2018 by watchers who were saddened by the disappearance of Superman from West End and the appearance of this young upstart Akecheta wooing Thunder. Not that different from us, sad that Thunder is missing, and yet somewhat reluctantly pleased that someone (Haku) is there in her place for Akecheta. The cycle of nest life goes on. https://youtu.be/VJctnVtsq-4?

Trempealeau is online, and everyone would love for TE3 to fly into camera view. The Raptor Resource Project tells us all about what is happening in that area of Wisconsin.

The latest migration statistics from Hawk Mountain in PA, USA are in. Could you take a look at the Broad Wing Hawks? Goodness.

Beautiful Big Red. So grateful to Suzanne Arnold Horning for her ‘hawk eye’ in catching up with our favourite Red-tail Hawk.

In the mailbox – oh, I do so love the questions that show up once in a while. Heidi wonders if Mum caused the eggs to be unviable by stopping incubation, or if the eggs were already non-viable, which is why she stopped incubation. What a great question.

The analysis done at Adelaide indicated that the eggs were fertile but that the osplets had stopped developing.

So we are still back to this: It appears to be one of those six of one and half a dozen of another events. Heidi confirms that Dad has brought in the same number of fish pre-hatch as he did in 2024. That means one or two a day. Females incubating do not use much energy, and that is sufficient. Many raptors continue to incubate even when the eggs are not viable. Shadow insisted on staying on the eggs for sixty days a year. We have seen this behaviour in various raptor nests. Mum should have been hearing the chicks because hatch was approaching. So my question is this: Did Mum hear them, then didn’t, and then stopped incubation? And if this was the case, and it wasn’t her stopping incubation that caused this, then what did?

The late Laura Culley would tell you that Mum knew precisely what she was doing and that her babies, which she is devoted to, were not alive when she stopped incubation. I hope that Port Lincoln will discover what happened. It could be a while.

What are you thinking?

Giliath and a fantastic fish, demonstrating that he is doing very well after hatching from Mum and Dad’s nest on the barge in Port Lincoln in 2023, along with Bradley.

The Currawongs in the Olympic Park are very brave in their attacks on the little sea eaglets. Nesting Bird Life and More has that attack on video. https://youtu.be/X_z3cZk1v6w?

The oldest sea eaglet has now jumped up to the second branch! https://youtu.be/Jiaalbsqfm4?

SK Hideaways has the most recent video on the Melbourne 367 Collins Street Falcon scrape: https://youtu.be/vDS7DxjwH8A?

Incubation continues at Orange. Are you getting anxious for hatch and to see how Gimbir will do as a first-time dad?! So am I.

California Condors are or have been released. I am looking forward to Ventana Wildlife Society’s release on Saturday the 25th but here is some information on other releases by the Yurok Tribe. You might find this interesting if you love these very endangered birds as much as I do!

Some of the most beautiful birds can be found in Asia. Thank you, BaoWan, for posting this beautiful image of White-naped Cranes.

I am a huge fan of our local wildlife rehabilitation centre, Wildlife Haven. Most of our donations support the fantastic work they do, persevering under sometimes dire conditions to ensure wildlife returns to the world they love. Everyone has been eagerly awaiting news of the rare lynx that came into care, and I am delighted to report that, although it will not be released back into the wild, it will be a permanent resident at our Assiniboine Park Zoo, where it will have a spacious and suitable home. Read all about that and more in the centre’s latest newsletter. These are inspiring, dedicated individuals! They give me hope, as do so many other centres.

Fall Newsletter Download

The lynx is making the local news, too. Quite the celebrity! https://youtu.be/No1qBUS6sZE?

Book Alert: For those just joining our community, every evening after Toby’s walk, it is story time. This began when I was trying to coax Calico into trusting me and then, later, when she came into the house. Calico is interesting. She loves story time, but lately the books have not been exciting enough for her to stick around! So today, I have one for you. It is titled Life Changing: Cley and Salthouse Marshes by David North. It is one of many recent publications that are journals examining life on the marshy coast of north Norfolk through a single year. This one weaves the months of the marshes into a beautiful narrative illustrated by nearly thirty excellent artists. The woodblock prints and water colours are worth the price! Of course, I was first drawn to it because of the many entries about geese, but there are frogs, bitterns, all manner of geese and ducks, Avocets, and others, including owls, drawn to the site. It is a place I hope to travel to —near where I lived in Lincolnshire —but you don’t need to live in the UK to appreciate the excellent writing and those gorgeous images!

A lovely little 350 word opinion piece in The Guardian’s Country Diary on Canada Geese! How grand.

Country diary: A lesson in rest from the Canada geese | Josie Georgehttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/24/country-diary-a-lesson-in-rest-from-the-canada-geese?CMP=share_btn_url

Thank you so much for being with us and being part of our Bird World community. Please take care. Enjoy the outdoors if the weather permits (and bundle up and get out anyway, even if it doesn’t!). We have to keep these legs moving! Will see you on Monday with a short posting and update on SE35.

I want to extend special thanks to SK Hideaways for their videos. Thank you to ‘B’ for that link to the fabulous video of Akecheta being ringed. Thank you to the individuals and owners of streaming cams, as well as those posting for various FB groups listed in Bold. The Guardian continues to publish informed articles on wildlife and the environment as do many of the authors such as David North. In our chaotic world, it is refreshing to be amongst people who love nature and want to protect its inhabitants.

Sunday in Bird World

12 January 2024

Good Morning,

Morning Update: R8 still hatching at Dade. R7 is a day old. Thanks for the great capture Heidi!

We woke up to the softest white snow Saturday morning. It was -14 C, which is lovely—cool but not freezing. The sun was out, the sky was a pearl grey-white.

We had an ‘interesting’ drive through the park Saturday afternoon. We love seeing the deer, but today was anxiety-provoking. A man with a dog on lead was provoking the deer. We drove slowly, parked behind the incident and didn’t leave. I always wonder why humans feel that they can threaten or hurt wild animals.

The garden is honoured by the continuing presence of a rabbit, one of a long line of rabbits to visit us. The video camera at the front of the house also recorded three deer visits, none of them the buck with the single antler from the other evening. My heart burns a little warmer.

Closer to home The Girl’s got two new toys. A tunnel with a mesh where they can see their sibling and a tiny rocking dome with some wiggly toys. Hugo Yugo and Baby Hope checked it out.

It is day 34 for egg 1 at NE Florida. If we think of the ‘average’ hatch between 36-38.5 days, we have two to four days to go until this little one hatches. It is getting excited.

What I can tell you is that the eggs at NE Florida are getting rolled and Gabby is being extremely vigilant in her duties. No pip as of Saturday afternoon that I am aware.

Those eaglets of Ron and Rose are really strong! This one hatched at 1016 Saturday. There is a tiny bit of shell stuck to its wing. Oh, my. What a little sweetheart. OK. Maybe to us. I bet its sibling might think otherwise!!!!!

Heidi sends word that there is indeed a pip for R8. Wow. These two will hatch close together and from the looks of it, this is a good thing. R7 is a really strong eaglet. So happy. We need good DNA, great parenting, lots of prey, and blessings as Avian Flu roars its ugly head around the world for the winter (again).

Chase brought Cholyn a fish Saturday morning and got his foot caught on the nest. He managed OK! Thank goodness. Chase and Cholyn are one of the oldest bonded couples in the Bald Eagle community. https://youtu.be/6b4Nsskhzzk?

Liberty and Guardian are at the nest! https://youtu.be/PMWeawllmXs?

F23 feeds the kids a Snook and their crops bulge. https://youtu.be/HpYz2mlVj-4?

At Captiva, it was raining earlier. Connie kept the Cs dry and warm as best she could. They are big now!

Kasse might be checking out what Wilko is doing!

Kasse is doing very well at getting fish on the nest, too, compared to Wilko.

It was such a relief, a joyous one, to see both Big Red and Arthur on the campus of Cornell University in the snow.

Wildlife are suffering irreparable deaths and damage to habitat due to the wildfires in Southern California. Where do they go? What do they eat?

New Evacuations Ordered as L.A.’s Largest Wildfire Expands – The New York Times Download

Concerns continue about the illegal release of lynx in the Scottish Highlands.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jan/10/fears-of-rogue-rewilding-in-scottish-highlands-after-further-lynx-sightings?CMP=share_btn_url

One of the lynx has died.

Here is a very thoughtful video on the illegal release of the lynx. What we need to understand about the illegal releases, why a balanced landscape is important, and the history of the animals that used to live in the area. Why did the lynx go extinct? https://youtu.be/teu8i5vlUWo?

Bird flu – HPAI and H5N1 – are spreading around the world during the winter. I worry for each of our families and, of course, all species. They have enough challenges already.

Highly pathogenic bird flu outbreak in Angus (again) – Raptor Persecution UK Download

An osprey, rescued in Belize City, has died.

Rescued Osprey Dies Overnight – Channel 5 Belize Download

Calico’s Tip for the Day: Make Time for Story Time even if you are a teenager, an adult, or someone living alone (read to a friend). Reading to Calico with the soft sounds of the words got her to trust me and, as we now know, that trust grew into her joining us in our home. An article in The New York Times speaks to how reading aloud to someone can create intimacy. Calico adds that it is also ‘together time’ ‘analog time’ – and it can be very meaningful and supportive. Why not join us in story time? Make it a part of your life’s routine.

The Benefits of Reading Out Loud – The New York Times Download

There are Beautiful Trumpeter Swans in Yellowstone. We have a pair that live in Manitoba—remember, we can be colder than Mars—at an Artesian spring north of our City.

Calico ordered three new books from me that she thinks might be good for our family story time. Here they are, and I will keep you posted once we have read them.

Polly Atkin loves owls. They are neighbours to the 17th century property she lives in at Grasmere in the Lake District. Her early observations led her to research the owls. Ms Atkin has a chronic illness and these owls are now her intimate friends and companions. Many of us can relate to these relationships.

This is another book about how a Robin became an intimate friend year after year. A description on the Internet lead me to believe that this book is one that we would enjoy.

A description in New River Books intrigued me. “Each month in The Blackbird’s Song, Miles Richardson delves into the science and mythology behind our relationship with nature, exploring everything from our kinship with plants to the way in which nature influences our moods. Along the way, he offers a range of activities to help us access the benefits of the natural world. Whether it be ‘joy-watching’ birds, rediscovering wonder, foraging for Christmas crafts or going on an urban safari, this book contains all the tools and inspiration you need to unlock the transformative power of nature and find real meaning in your life.”

This reminds me slightly of the new book by Margaret Renkl which is the journal included in my listing of books from 2024.

Pets being rescued in southern California. Thinking about the wildlife…

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please check on all those eagle nests as the chicks have hatched at various dates and are at different developmental stages. At Superbeaks, Barron is eating and finding ways around Keke to get his food. At Captiva and SW Florida there is so much food there has not been an issue around the amount of prey one chick gets over the other. Behaviour can be observed and watching these eaglets is a good way to learn about how they change as they grow – wings, feet, plumage, bills, etc. The only osprey nests have fledglings. There is some interest in bonding and mating at some of the Florida osprey nests, but as far as I know there are no eggs yet. Take care of yourself. We will see you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, comments, questions, posts, images, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, Heidi, J, MP’, NEFL-AEF, WRDC, BVSgirl, FORE, Androcat, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Bart M and the PLO, Ferris Akel Tour, The New York Times, Raptor Persecution UK, Leave Curious, Channel 5 Belize, Yellowstone National Park, New River Books, Amazon, Chief Miller, International Bird Rescue, UKOsprey Information

The many things we are grateful for…Thursday in Bird World

28 November 2024

Good Morning Everyone,

Today is Thanksgiving in the US. (We had ours eons ago). My calendar tells me that I got the date correct this time. We will make a special pumpkin pie to celebrate with our American readers. It doesn’t take a special day for me to be thankful for each of you for opening your hearts and lives to me throughout the years. I always enjoy hearing from you, seeing the images of your faithful pets or the birds in your gardens, and hearing about the wonders of your holidays, road trips, or just the musings of your day. That you have allowed me into your life is so precious, and I am very grateful and touched.

I am also grateful for my life, no matter how challenging. Every day I enjoy with my husband is a real gift. Each minute is treasured. I urge you to cherish all the beautiful moments – they are fleeting like the delicate snowflakes that fall. I wondered what life might be like, but that no longer happens. We have not allowed Lewy Body Dementia to destroy us. We travel, see birds daily, play with and read to our girls, have dinner with friends and family, watch movies and laugh hysterically. We are even starting back on writing the children’s book about garden birds. What more would I want?

I am also grateful to The Girls. They are huge characters who bring so much comfort and laughter. Of course, there is also Brock, Dyson and her family, Junior and the Missus, and the two Crows. Sadly, I cannot tell one sparrow from the other, but their presence is huge. You can hear the bird song from our garden a half block away, where there is nothing but silence.

I am also grateful to all of the writers who have brought the most amazing stories – real and not – into our lives this year. We are reading Chloe Dalton’s book, Raising Hare, for the second time. It is the story of how caring for a leveret changed Dalton’s life. It is writers like her that give me hope. We have just finished reading The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer. The Saskatoon or Serviceberry is a metaphor for the gift economy and how each of us can, through simple grassroots, ways help change the type of rampant consumerism that lies at the heart of our climate crisis. Public libraries, free farm stands where surplus produce is left for anyone to take and use, The Little Free Libraries doting the neighbourhoods where you live, clothing depots for people who need something to wear to a job they thought they would never get — free gifts that trickle through society. We can all take part!

So thank you to all of you, to my husband struggling with Lewy Body Dementia, my children and close friends, to my girls and the garden animals who make my life worth living.

Now for something fun related to Thanksgiving, Audubon published 10 Fun Facts about Wild Turkeys. See how many you know!

10 Fun Facts About the Wild Turkey _ Audubon Download

Today, we were scheduled to take Missey and Calico to the vet. However, I have been concerned about Hugo Yugo’s teeth since we adopted her, so at the last minute, I decided to bring Hugo Yugo instead of Calico. It turned out to be a good decision. My fear of dental issues stems from losing Lewis last year. Unfortunately, Hugo Yugo does have dental problems, but thankfully, her condition is not as severe as Lewis’s was.

We have been using dental wipes and brushing her teeth every day, which has helped keep the issue manageable. However, she will need professional cleanings every six months. Hugo Yugo is scheduled to have a cleaning and surgery to remove her incisors. Our vet has offered to come in during her holiday if Hugo Yugo stops eating, but we are hoping to secure an appointment within the next two months.

Please send your warmest wishes to little Hugo Yugo, as she is in considerable pain but is not showing any signs of it.

The pair really looked over that office. They even had a chance for play fighting and at the end of the day they both wanted to come home together in the same cat carrier, not separately. Enjoy.

Missey is well-behaved, gentle, and extremely healthy. She has only gained 300 grams in a year. No teeth problems! No gum problems. Maine Coon. How lucky were we to get this loving motherly cat? Someone found her under a truck only a couple of days old.

Hugo Yugo was into everything – on every shelf!

Getting acquainted with the room.

Missey knew there were some squeezy treats on that counter somewhere.

It was nice to be home. Hugo Yugo had a double dinner and has been asleep since her return.

Today, I want to introduce you to the work of Emma Buck. I found Emma through a friend in the UK and was instantly taken by the intricate stitching she uses to create her birds. I had been looking for birds for a ‘tree’ in my living room and, also as holiday gifts for friends. They fit both of my loves – our feathered friends and having beautiful handmade objects.

Emma Buck describes herself as a “Norfolk birder and ringer but have spent a lot of time in Canada and wannabe wildlife artist.” Emma has recently moved from the UK to Canada, and this year – for the next few months – her only income is derived from the gorgeous handmade birds she makes. There is no comparison to the birds made in China by a machine!

Emma did not think she could master a Blue Jay, but she tried, and this is the result. It is now her favourite, and I think she captured Junior rather well. I sure love the result!!!!!!

I hope to eventually have one of Emma’s birds for each of the species that visits our garden.

And the three altogether:

These are some of the examples of past birds and animals that Emma has created. You can see the size by comparing the bird with her hand.

These handmade gems are $45 CDN each plus shipping and handling. If you have questions or are interested in commissioning a bird or animal, here is Emma’s contact information: emmarosebuck@gmail.com

Emma also has an Instagram account, too: emmas_wildlifeart

The shock of Hugo Yugo’s need for surgery is sinking in, even though I knew there was going to be a problem early on. She does not have the underlying conditions like feline leukaemia that Lewis had, thank goodness. She has slept since coming home, but did eat well. I need to watch to make sure she continues to eat. Right now, all I want to do is cuddle up with her and a warm blanket – hoping that we can make a miracle happen overnight.

So, I had little time to check on the birds today. I constantly checked Port Lincoln because it is the only active nest. Thank goodness the rest of Bird World is relatively quiet.

The morning started off pretty rough at Port Lincoln with wind gusts and damp conditions.

Dad came through with a fish that he had eaten quite bit from. Still, it is better than nothing. It is a good day for the Fish Fairy.

By 1213, there had been no other deliveries – Mum, Dad, or Fairy. Fingers crossed.

The Fish Fairy came and delivered 10 fish. Wilko is right there and it isn’t going to be long til he is claiming one of those and unzipping it. Kasse time to figure this out! Dad claimed one. Mum and the kids got the rest. Fantastic.

I will continue to advocate that providing supplementary fish to this family in Port Lincoln ensures that the chicks not only survive to fledge, but are also healthy and strong. Thank you Fran, Janet, and Bazz.

I didn’t see any activity at the NE Florida nest of Gabby and Beau.

At Cal Falcons, Annie and Archie are starting to think of romance! https://youtu.be/bhAmpg9dQZs?

Holly Parsons posted a moving video of a peregrine falcon that became blind and was raised in captivity. Thanks, Holly. Wildlife are so resilient. https://youtu.be/wJCl-U6ena4?

Do you remember the only eyas raised in the flower pot in Sydney, Australia? Well, the Crawley fledgling returned to her balcony and nest after two weeks on the wing!

News from Ranger Judy on the Olympic Park Eagles. I am hoping that we will have some pictures of SE33 in rehab soon!

Jackie and Shadow have been busy. https://youtu.be/HpV-4iq5jMc?

Wisdom has returned to Midway Island in search for a mate!!!!!!!!!!! This is amazing news. The entire staff and Laysan osprey lovers of this 74 year old albatross are giving thanks for her health and return. Let us all be grateful. She is the one with the red band on her right leg.

It’s Rita’s History Monday and ‘J’ sent me the link!

A 4 year old eagle has come to check out the Dulles-Greenway nest of Martin and Rosa. https://youtu.be/tAtLJOgGRnU?

FORE has decided that the pine cone that Jackie brought into the nest isn’t going anywhere. It is a female cone as they are much larger and have a list of names you can choose from. Have some fun. Go and vote. Here is the link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1orWPap_URi7yZbpiyaEUEuSetfPWE_hvCUe69JtWeng/viewform?edit_requested=true

If you have been following the issues surrounding the cutting down of a Bald Eagle nest by a developer in Alabama, here is a summary that was posted of a meeting where the issues were discussed.

The Kakapo Recovery still has some adoptions open! We adopted Ralph’s father, Rangi, a couple of years ago. It is another great organization – like so many others – reaching out for help this season.

‘J’ reports that the 2024 Raptor Day at WINORR raised over $20,000 to help with Bobby Horvath’s rescue and rehabilitation efforts for raptors on Long Island.

Calico’s Tip of the Day: Ignore all of the Black Friday Week Sales. Delete the ads in your inbox. Close your eyes to the stores. Put the flyers in the recycling bin. Instead of buying a huge TV, another purse, more tools for the garage, or the temptation of a new phone or big fancy camera, pause. Think of the birds and the people who rescue and care for them, and if you can, give – a little or a lot on or before Giving Tuesday so your donation is doubled.

We wish all of you celebrating Thanksgiving a day of laughter and love with those near and dear. To everyone else, take time to be grateful for something little or big that makes your life worth getting up for. If it is a person, tell them! We all need to know we are valued. Enjoy your dinner – lots of love, effort, and expense went into it!

Thank you for being with us. Please take care. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write this short blog today: ‘J’, Audubon, Emma Buck, SK Hideaways, Port Lincoln Ospreys, Judy Harrington, Hob Osterlund, Rita the Eagle, Holly Parsons, Untamed, Orange Australia Peregrine Falcons and Crawley Falcons, FORE, Dulles-Greenway Eagle Cam, Wings of Whimsy, Kakapo Recovery

Sunday in Bird World

22 September 2024

Hello Everyone,

As is typical, I am writing my post on Saturday. I had hoped for some sun and wind to dry up all the rain, but, the rain is now coming down harder and harder. Three Crows were frantically pecking at the nut cylinder. I noticed that they gave each other space so that they could eat. All was going well until Dyson arrived! The Crows flew off. They returned later for a big bowl of cheesy dogs. I can see Junior at the feeder sorting through the peanuts. Where is Mrs Junior? It is always worrisome when one or the other does not show up at the morning feeder.

Dyson is moulting. She isn’t sick! She is so strong and healthy. It makes us happy to be a part of her life. I wish we could get the trees to grow faster or convince her to please just stay in our garden. No roads!

It has really started pouring. And yeah, Mrs Junior just flew in to get some peanuts!!!!!! Relief.

In Canada, Beaumont continues to deliver large fish to the nest where his two fledglings might like to scrap for the dinner! Both are eating well and Beaumont is making sure each is fed.

Dad and at least one chick are still at the LDF nest in Kuzeme Latvia.

Right now there is harmony and peace at the NE Florida nest of Gabby. She doesn’t seem to care if the male has necrotic feet in places. They are on the branches together, side by side at times, and in the nest making nestorations. If Gabby gets to raise little eaglets in peace this year, we should all jump up and down with joyful tears.

They have been on and off the nest on Saturday. The AEF has ‘temporarily’ designated the male as 24E1 (year, eagle, first visitor).

The eyes of the male visitor remind me so much of those of Samson. I know it isn’t, but for a split second.

The SW Florida streaming cams are up and ready for action starting today or tomorrow.

It was a beautiful day at the nest of Bella at the NCTC. Didn’t see any eagles.

You can help support conservation by buying stamps! Aren’t these beautiful?

These will be available in the new year. There are currently others for sale – some designed by adults and other junior winners. They are lovely.

The little eaglet in Australia is doing so well and this little fluffy bundle of joy has a name – Lukin.

Bradley and Shultzie. Yes! Good thing there are two perches. It’s always good, just like the Blue Jays, to get a total head count before sunset.

Judy Harrington brings us up to date with the Olympic Park Eagles.

The new pair in the USK Valley in Wales left late. They didn’t breed but hopes are high for 2025.

FAREWELL TO THE 2024 GILESTONE OSPREYS — Usk Valley Ospreys Download

Bird Flu is possibly the reason for the decline in Peregrine Falcon populations in the US. Like everything else, it is still with us – it just isn’t making the news like it did. That is a shame.

Why Are Peregrine Falcon Numbers Falling in the United States Again_ _ Audubon Download

Xavier flew out for the morning breakfast hunt. Diamond waits patiently to see what he will return with for her meal.

We blinked and the Olympic Park Eaglets grew and grew. When did this happen? They are more steady on their feet. Their wing feathers are growing in. They look like eagles, not nestlings. SE 34 is learning to self-feed.

Will we see the Royal Cam chick back on cam before fledge? Possibly not.

Pippa’s Mum is the first to return: Royal Cam chick Atawhai (Miss Pippa) and Lillibet’s Mum YRK is the first to return to Taiaroa this year. You will remember her amazing mate, OGK – some of us still tear up at the thought of him. OGK has not been seen since he went missing in 2022.

The Only Bob at Growing Home is so fortunate. It will never ever have to share a fish with a ravenous sibling. Look carefully. Tiny white bobblehead.

The fight for the survival of the osprey (and other wildlife) in the Chesapeake Bay is on and hinges on the curtailing of the industrial fishing of Menhaden.

In The Arena: Dr. Bryan Watts | Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership Download

There is always something to learn about migration: “For migrating birds, fall brings difficulty and danger. To reach warm winter climes, many birds must fly hundreds or thousands of miles, expend immense amounts of energy and successfully dodge storms, skyscrapers and other potential threats.

Still, scientists have long assumed that a basic trade-off made migration worth the gamble: Once birds arrived at their wintering grounds, they wouldn’t need to work so hard to stay warm, saving substantial amounts of energy. “But nobody ever tested this,” said Nils Linek, a behavioral ecologist at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Germany.

Now, Dr. Linek and his colleagues have done so. Their findings, based on a partially migratory population of German blackbirds, challenge the conventional wisdom. Even in the depths of winter, blackbirds basking in balmy southern Europe or northern Africa did not spend any less energy than those riding out the cold in Germany, the scientists found.”

Read on to find out more.

Study Reveals Bird-Migration Mystery – The New York Times Download

On line tool is helping with bird collision and renewable energy in Thailand, Vietnam, India, and Nepal for the past two years.

Online Tool Prevents Bird Collisions in Flyways Across the World – BirdLife International Download

Calico’s Tip for the Day. You have heard us mention numerous times the need to halt bird collisions. Residences indeed account for more deaths than skyscrapers. Hard to believe? I know, but it is true if you take all the deaths due to our windows collectively. So what is the problem? People do not know how to stop the birds from hitting their windows. Calico says that you must space the decals on the OUTSIDE of the window at least 5 cm or two inches apart. That’s right. You cannot just put one decal on the outside of your window and hope it will work; you never put it on the inside. The most economical method is window paint. Again, on the outside of the windows. I liked using the white or the yellow. Squiggle everywhere. Let your children or grandchildren help. The window paints come off easily.

Nova Scotia’s official bird (I know that everyone knew that, right?) on an iconic boat, the Bluenose II.

Thank you so much for being with us today. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for the notes, posts, videos, articles, images, tweets, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘PB for today and for Saturday’s Tweet from Dr Greene’, Newfoundland Power, LDF, NEFL-AEF, NCTC, USFWS, Port Lincoln Osprey, Judy Harrington and Olympic Park Eagles, Jeff Kear and USK Valley Ospreys, Audubon, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Olympic Park Eagles, The Royal Albatross Centre, Growing Home, Bryan Watts and the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Sharon Dunne, Bluenose II, USFWS, Birdlife International, and The New York Times.

Wednesday in Bird World

14 August 2024

Good Morning,

The flight to Nova Scotia was absolutely unremarkable. The food was delicious and the staff were funny and accommodating. Getting to the airport hotel was easy and we are simply happy to leave the cark park with a paper map in our hands. We are looking forward to rediscovering this beautiful province of Canada after an absence of so many, many years. Yes, ‘paper’ map. I get so sick of not having one and having to look at my phone.

Bliss. You can hear a pin drop. The area is near orchards, corn fields, small farms, honey producers, and the estuary where the tide comes and goes. No street lights, no noise from traffic, nothing. Silence. I cannot tell you how much I needed this.

All of the animals at the sanctuary were either taken because they were abused or surrendered because they were unwanted. I cannot wait for Jen to give us a tour.

Lots of sheep.

A farm bouquet of sunflowers and cabbages.

Fields and fields of apples to send out to the world.

It was a funny thing looking out at the animals at the sanctuary. Decades ago, I ‘gathered’ that I had an animal sanctuary and didn’t realise it. It was not something one thought about at the time. The sheep came from the late Walter Toews, who gave me the little ones rejected by their mother and other mothers. My children fed them with bottles, and they had the run of the fifteen acres. The horses came from PMU farms. Do you know what a PMU is? They were farms where the urine from the pregnant horses was collected and used to make birth control pills at the time. The conditions varied. Some of the cows were male Holsteins – a male milk cow is an oxymoron and, like male chicks, unwanted. As a result of those memories, I have a greater appreciation for this family that has taken on the task of caring for many animals scattered over the acreage that otherwise would have lost their lives. It is hard work – but highly rewarding. I mean, look at that sweet face.

No sign of eagles. The eagle sign on the road says December-March. I wonder where they are now?

Tomorrow is Maude Lewis Day. Preeminent folk artist of Nova Scotia who lived at Digby. I learned much about her from my neighbour when I lived in Wolfville. Her father ran a fish market in Digby. Maude would paint scallop shells and he would sell them in his shop. He also gave her meat for the dogs and for herself. My neighbour had a box of handmade Christmas cards that she brought out one day to show me. Maude gave her cards at Christmas and some on her birthday. They were remarkable. So, it is a bit of a pilgrimage – to a replica of her house (the original tiny home is in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, her burial site, and to a few other haunts of Maude’s near Digby.

“Maud Lewis” by Ron Cogswell is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

“Maud Lewis Painted House” by Sean_Marshall is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

If you have Netflix, there is an excellent documentary-drama titled Maudie about Maude Lewis’s life. Get the tissues ready.

Oh, how I missed this beautiful landscape, the rolling hills, the vineyards, the orchards, and the friendly people. It has been great to return.

C16, the only surviving osplet on the Charlo Montana nest (two nest accidents killed the other two chicks) fledged on Monday the 12th. Congratulations Lola and Charlie!

C16 continues to return to the nest. Mum Lola would like to see Charlie get a big fish on that nest for them.

One of the delights of trying to identify an osprey and sometimes the gender IDing at ringing is not always clear. News from USK Valley about Blue 397.

C16 wasn’t the only Montana chick to fledge on Monday. Junebug from Dunrovin Ranch took its first flight, too.

Look at those beautiful wings – and those long thin legs. Is Junebug a male?

Identity Issues — Usk Valley Ospreys Download

Geemeff’s Daily Summary for Loch Arkaig and The Woodland Trust.

Daily summary Monday 12th August 2024

Garry LV0 and Affric 152 had a busy day today, hopping on and off Nest One multiple times. Garry tried his luck but got nowhere, and ironically, after fish-calling for most of her time on the nest, Affric wasn’t present when Garry did turn up with a plump juicy fish. He took it away again and she lost out. No activity on Nest Two, although thunder and lightening around 08.30 did make both nest cams shake and hiss momentarily. There shouldn’t be any problems tonight, the forecast is for clear skies and a gentle breeze, maybe the Perseid meteor shower might show up on nest cam. However it’s all change for tomorrow, with heavy rain and a moderate breeze (make that strong winds at the top of the nest trees) forecast for tomorrow.

Night cam switches on (day cam): Nest One 22.13.43 (04.57.35); Nest Two 22.22.41 (05.00.53)

Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/csO3lrb-qgY N1 Garry and Affric are alarmed by an unseen intruder 13.05.37

https://youtu.be/cdetJmrEd_w N1 Affric 152 shrugs off Garry LV0’s mating attempts 15.21.22

https://youtu.be/93Tf6cfsq2Q N1 Garry LV0 returns alone and perches quietly before departing 15.50.01

https://youtu.be/Zz5MF4QI0Ic N1 Affric 152 returns alone and perches quietly, has a squirt and departs! 17.23.22

https://youtu.be/l2actnz1EJo N1 Garry LV0 returns with a fish but Affric’s not there 20.26.49

Watch the Loch Arkaig Osprey livestream 24/7 and join in the conversation here:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

All of the chicks at Fortis-Exshaw nest near Canmore, Alberta fledged! That intruder did not bother this nest like last year, thankfully.

Our gorgeous Iris. I get all teary. What a wonderful mother she is.

Iris continues to make sure that both chicks are eating.

A lovely article about Iris:

First Chick in Five Years Fledges from Hellgate Osprey Nest | Cornell Lab Bird Cams Cornell Lab Bird Download

Always – yes, always, a happy time when Jackie and Shadow are at the nest.

‘J’ sent us news of one lucky osprey.

Sadly, other ospreys continue to die. Honestly, I cannot wait til the third week in September when everyone should be on their way to their winter homes and the only nest we have to pull our hair out while watching is Port Lincoln. Maybe those Fish Fairies will be around again this year!

We know that the overuse of antibiotics is causing Superbugs that humans will be unable to treat because we have grown resistant to them. Well, guess what? We are doing it to the birds!!!!!! Seriously.

Urban birds are teeming with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, study finds

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/13/urban-birds-are-teeming-with-antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-study-finds?CMP=share_btn_url

Mum removes Dad’s beautiful decorative rope when she takes out a partial fish. Let’s hope it falls off her talon!

Hope feeding her two beautiful babies. They are within fledge in a week for the oldest chick at Snow Lane platform in Newfoundland.

Thank you so much for being with us. Take care everyone. We look forward to seeing you again soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, comments, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my post today: ‘Geemeff, H, J’, OpenVerse, Heidi McGrue, Charlo Montana, Dunrovin Ranch, USK Valley Ospreys, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Cornell Bird Lab, Montana Osprey Project, All About Birds, SK Hideaways, Bobby Horvath, SF Bay Ospreys, and The Guardian.

Wednesday in Bird World

22 November 2023

Good Morning Everyone,

A skein of 0ver 50 geese flew over the conservatory this morning as I was luring Hope into the carrier to go for her surgery. Send her your good wishes. She was such a darling. One little kibble and she got into the big carrier and didn’t cry or fuss or anything. Incredible. If you take your pets in a carrier to the vet or on a trip and they are nervous, cover them. It settles them and they are not tense.

As is typical, I am writing this blog on Tuesday night with some additions normally done on Wednesday morning. But Wednesday is different this week – it is the day that Hope and I have to be at the clinic for her surgery. So we will be up and away so she is there at 0730. First in line and first home, hopefully!

Aren’t they gorgeous? The joy these two have brought to my life cannot be measured. Today, we had several story times. All I have to do is sit on my grandmother’s scrap quilt and start reading, very quietly, and they are both there. Missey joins us now, too. We are on the final chapter of The Comfort of Crows. Will have to pick a new book to start while we wait for Hope to be able to come home.

Missey fell asleep watching Cat TV. I held my breath thinking she was going to tumble off the edge – just like we all held our breath when Barru would get near the ledge of the scrape -. Thankfully, she did not.

The surprise of the day came late in the afternoon. I had just placed fresh food in the feral feeding dishes and then – look. There are two of them. Two Boyfriends. Seriously, they look like twins!

If you look closely, the cat with its back to us is the ‘original’. You can see the two places where the fur is growing back on the tail and back. Where did this other cat come from? Is it also feral? or is it someone’s cat who was let out when they got home from work?

Gosh, I can’t wait to get rid of that old carpet. Its only function now is to keep the snow and rain from going through the boards in the deck and making the ground soak. It is much nicer for the community cats if they have a dry place to sleep.

There is not a lot of news in Bird World. We spend our days waiting to see if Dad or Mum will bring fish to the PLO barge reassured that the osplets will get fed, regardless. We know that two fledglings – one at Sydney and the other at Orange – have survived til now. The fate of Marri and 32 (?) is unknown. The Eagles in the US are laying eggs. We wait to see who will be next after Superbeaks, Captiva, and KNF E-3.

At the Port Lincoln Nest, Mum and those precious babies waiting quite some time before a meal arrived. Mum left several times and there was a quiet expectation that she might try fishing. Dad was on the ropes when she was gone.

As it turned out, Dad came in with a small headless fish at 13:37. Mum went out and caught a medium fish at 14:01 and the Fish Fairy arrived with a Trevally and a Red Mullet at 14:19.

The kids looked up and then there was a scramble as Mum landed on the nest to take that first fish from Dad.

The wind was blowing the nesting material about as the barge rocked. The waves were choppy and there were white caps. Mum seemed to spot a fish and was quickly off. The kids seemed to be cheering her on as she landed with their second meal.

The fish fairy delivery. Notice that Mum really has a fondness for that Red Mullet!

Sometimes you are just too full for any more fish…it is a shame that all of them arrive in such a short period of time but, these things cannot be planned.

At the time of writing, this was the events posted on the observation board.

The intruder that did the fly by over the barge nest was none other than our dear Ervie!!!!!!!! Checking out his new siblings!!!!!!!

There is an image of a fledgling bathing in the Parramatta River. Great news. Wish there were two of them, but thrilled we have one. Juvenile is about in the centre of the image at the water line.

The latest video on the Orange falcon fledglings.

There is wonderful news coming out of the UK. Roy Dennis has been recognised for all of his work with raptors – from the time he was a young lad. We benefit from his dedication as do the skies, the hills, and the lochs. Congratulations.

‘H’ and many others were excited to see F23 sitting on the SW Florida Nest today. Quite a number think we are now on egg watch! After Andria fooled me and Elfruler and lots of others, I will just keep my opinion to myself.

When it happens, it is presumed that this is F23’s first egg ever.

It is raining hard at the NCTC nest of Bella. So who is the visitor? (I am surprised that there are not better markers for IDing Smitty after several years).

V3 and Gabby continue to work on their nest all the while being acutely aware of any intruders that might be in the territory.

Work going on at the Berry College nest daily.

The latest migration counts from Hawk Mountain up to 20 November.

Thanks so much, ‘N’, for another great article from The New York Times. This time we learn how devilishly intelligent the Caracaras truly are – wow.

Freakishly-Smart-Falcons-Run-These-Islands-The-New-York-Times Download

The Rare Bird Reporting Panel has come up with its long standing report on what is happening in the UK. The study reveals, “…four bird of prey species, including Osprey, have reached record totals in the UK, as have several species of rare and colonising herons.”

Stroud-et-al.-2023-RBBP-paper-in-British-Birds-Download

Latest arrival of swans since 1965. What might this mean?

Slimbridge-Bewicks-Swans-make-latest-ever-return-BirdGuides Download

Lots more news will be coming on Friday, but tomorrow might be a little thin. Keep your eyes on our nests. They are saying ‘egg watch’ at SW Florida but there could be others to surprise us! Hope will require some extra attention when she gets home. Thank you for being with us today. Take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, articles, graphics, and steaming cams that helped me to write my blog this morning: ‘H, N’, PLO, Kerry Allen, Cilla Kinross, Roy Dennis Wildlife foundation, Heidi Mc, Deb Stecyk, NEFL-AEF, Hawk Mountain, New York Times, BTO, Bird Guides, and Healthy Yards.

V3 is home…Wednesday in Bird World

15 November 2023

Hello Everyone,

Right now it is 16:20 Tuesday afternoon in the NEFlorida Eagle Cam and V3 is in the nest on full alert! I have heard such speculation about him ‘not being up to the job’ (maybe he isn’t), but Gabby and him sure make a good tea and he risks his life to protect their territory like any bonded mate would. Welcome home. Tears flowing.

V3 and Gabby were at the nest tree and on high alert Wednesday morning.

Now for other news. Tuesday was the glorious day that was promised. The wind was a little nippy, but to be outside in the fresh air, to turn the heating off, and to clear the deck by pushing and not lifting the shovel is a blessing.

I went to the zoo. The purpose was to see the Snowy Owls and the Stellar’s Eagle. I will not tell you what I said quietly in my head after I paid the entrance fee. All I will say is I wonder how families can afford to go to the zoo! But never mind…the Snowy Owls were ‘somewhere’ not to be seen. The road to the Stellar’s Eagle enclosure was blocked for tree trimming. I won’t give it 5 stars for a great day, but I sure did get that long walk in.

The birds in the Toucan Building were lovely. The Roseate Spoonbills were high on the ledges preening. The Toucan had posed for a group of school children and was ready for a break…some of the ducks were bothering one another.

Eurasian Reindeer – the kind that are found in Lapland.

There were several Emu. Australian Birds. They are the second largest bird after the Ostrich. They cannot fly. They have two sets of eyelids – one for blinking and the other for keeping dust and other particles out of their eyes.

A beautiful Reeve Pheasant.

This is an Inukshuk. “The word “inukshuk” means “in the likeness of a human.” For generations, Inuit have been creating these impressive stone markers on the vast Arctic landscape. Inukshuks serve several functions, including guiding travellers, warning of danger, assisting hunters and marking places of reverence.”

At home, Hope and Missey have been playing on the large cat tree.

I am a little worried about Calico. She is on the waiting list to get in to see the vet. She is just not herself.

At Port Lincoln, Mum was doing the toe dance in anticipation of the arrival of Dad with a fish and he did not disappoint. There was a nice headless fish brought in around 08:40.

Giliath is 29 days old and #2 is 27. They are doing so well.

Everyone ate. Notice how quick that fish disappears!!!!!!! We have two hungry youngsters in a big growth spurt.

Huge crops. Thanks so much, Dad!

Fish fairy arrives at 13:15.

Mum removes the fish from the nest to eat the head on the ropes, ensuring that Mum gets some fish. She ate for more than half an hour.

The ops report at Port Lincoln:

Diamond showed up at the scrape at Orange. No word on either Marri or Barru yet but I will keep checking.

Later Diamond and Xavier were bonding in the scrape. Hope should give them a ‘High Five’ for the great job they did raising Marri and Barru.

Cilla Kinross stated that she saw Marri flying about on her way into work and that the fledgling was doing well. She did not have time to grab her camera.

‘H’ sent a note that Cilla had more recent news on the Orange Australia FB page:

Here is Cilla’s video:

M15 defending the nest against the GHO Monday night – if you missed it.

M15 has had to defend the nest again on Tuesday night. Please send all your positive energy. This is a very tense situation and bald eagles and GHOs fighting for territory can result in a tragic end. Stay safe M15!

M15 stayed in the nest last night.

A lot of disinformation is coming out about the SWFlorida and NEFlorida Bald Eagle nests. We wait for things to settle down at both. V3 is still defending the territory near The Hamlet nest against other eagles, and M15 has his hands full with the GHOs.

Looks a little stormy at Captiva. Connie is keeping that precious egg nice and dry.

The second egg was laid Tuesday evening early. Clive was nearby.

I love Martin and Rosa at the Dulles-Greenway Bald Eagle nest. They can raise more eaglets easier than you can blink your eyes. If you do not have them on your watch list, I highly recommend you put them there.

Looks like someone is interested in the Captiva Osprey cam!

A lesson raptor ID.

The New York Times has a great story on how intelligent Vultures are! Thank you to my good friend, ‘N’, for spotting this and sending the link to me so I could share it with you.

Why-Vultures-Might-Just-Be-the-Smartest-Birds-Above-the-Block-The-New-York-Times Download

Hawk Mountain Migration Count til 13 November.

USFWS declares ten birds extinct – eight of them from the Hawaiian Islands. Feeling sad.

Eight-Hawaiian-bird-species-declared-extinct-BirdGuides Download

Want to know more about hummingbirds? I love seeing them in the garden but the speed with which they move is so incredible making it nearly impossible for an amateur like me to catch their likeness with my camera. Those beautiful little bullet shapes with the most amazing wings and iridescent colours to rival any eye shadow pallet this season – read on.

Scientists-learn-secret-to-hummingbirds-remarkable-agility-Science-The-Guardian Download

Love Albatross? Looking for an excellent children’s book? Chile Bird. The true story of a Royal Albatross is a wonderful choice, beautifully illustrated – touches the hardships that our Royal Albatross face in their daily lives and the heroic efforts of people to save them. I ordered my copy from the Royal Albatross Visitor’s Centre on Taiaroa Head. (Apologies for the glare).

Children's Books, Toys, Homewares

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. Looking forward to seeing you again soon.

Thank you to the following for their notes, videos, articles, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: ‘A, H, N’, PLO, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam, Cilla Kinross, Gracie Shepherd, Androcat, Window to Wildlife, Dulles-Greenway Eagle Cam, Phil Hayne, The New York Times, Hawk Mountain, Bird Guides, The Guardian, and Diane Miller.

PLO has their first egg…Wednesday in Bird World

6 September 2023

Good Morning and what a grand morning it is!

I finished reading to the kittens – yes, did you know that reading aloud to your pets is also soothing for them? Calico’s kitten is now learning about ways to save our vanishing birds by listening to A Wing and a Prayer. The Race to Save our Vanishing Birds by Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal. You can find time to squeeze in a good book by sharing with your pets!

The book is well written and insightful. I am learning so much. Did you know that more than 8,000 species of plants and flowers in the Americas depend on hummingbirds for pollination? Or that productivity in apple orchards goes up 66% if there are insects? The book is about finding ways to keep the birds alive because human life depends on that. In Kauai, there are only a few hundred Puaiohi Thrushes. These birds spread seeds around the island, creating the rainforest. “Without forests, we have no flood control. We have no drinking water.” (219) Baby Cal is learning what we all need to – first, how important our wildlife area to our existence, what problems we have created for them, what a lack of balance means to our existence and theirs, and how some talented individuals are figuring out ways to save some of these fragile creatures. So how will they save the Puaiohi Thrush? By releasing lab-bred mosquitoes. AI is being used in the Sierra Nevada to track and protect the Spotted Owl.

I had just finished a chapter when I noticed a note from ‘H’. Was I surprised? Then another note about Collins Street. Thanks so much, ‘H’

Port Lincoln has their first egg!!!!!!!! I am overjoyed and I am hopeful that we might see a big change in the behaviour of this nest unless, of course, the fish supply is limited. From Ernie’s recent catches that does not appear to be the case.

I am so happy for Mum. Nesting material had been brought in so this new couple had some idea that yesterday was the big day.

Dad was there by her side. I am going to like this guy if he is a good provider and there is no siblicide.

We are expecting an egg at 367 Collins Street and guess what? It arrives. We have lift-off in Australia!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spotting Ospreys: Blue 550 hatched at Llyn Clywedog in 2020 was seen and is believed to have a nest in mid-Wales. Fantastic.

Migration continues in the US. These are the latest numbers from Hawk Mountain.

Checking on some of the Osprey nests – who is home and who is not.

Patchogue: Mini is home and Dad has been seen down by the lake. Someone mentioned that Mom might still be around as several Ospreys were seen flying. Mini continues to adapt as she struggles with that left leg – often late in the day. She certainly does better after having a long rest on the nest! She is flying, she is eating – whether or not it is dad feeding her, Mini catching fish or both – she is eating. She is not lethargic. Mini is doing what this spunky independent determined fourth hatch always does – she gets on with it. She is living her life as a fledgling osprey the best she can with the issues that she has.

Mini landing at 1909.

Beautiful Iris is still home at her nest in Missoula Montana. Iris maintains one of the most splendid Osprey nests I have ever seen. Just like some of the others she is adding a few sticks to continue to lay claim to the nest. Soon, she will fly south – thought to be the oldest osprey in the world – we live in the hope that she will return in late March or early April and maybe, just maybe, have one of those young men waiting for her that she met this summer.

Iris demonstrated her great fishing skills even when there were flood waters. What marvellous fish she brought to the owl pole. The result, if you look carefully, is a fat little bottom. Eat up, Iris! We want you to make it to your winter home in southern Texas (??) safely and in good shape.

Of course, Iris is not ringed and no one knows for sure where she over winters but it is believed it could be the southern part of Texas and not further afield in Central America or Mexico.

Glaslyn: Aran is still home and so is 0H1 as of the time of this writing. OH1 is 98 days old. OH2 has not been seen since 4 September when he was 95 days old. That nest looks rather empty! Waiting to see if OH1 is still home on the 6th of September.

Harry is still delivering to Chirpy as of Tuesday. Chirpy was 103 days old. Both siblings and Mum have left on migration from Alyth.

Here comes Harry!

That amazing Dad is bringing fish to Mum on the nest at Boulder County Fairgrounds. What a loving couple and what better way to help your mate with a safe migration than to help her eat well after raising three strong osplets this season to fledge.

Snap and Crackle are both eating fish at the Dunrovin Osprey nest. T hanks, Swoop!

Fledgling fish calling at Collins Marsh – and still being fed! It was a really windy day in Wisconsin. You can’t tell the trees are blowing but look at the feathers of the juvenile. Fantastic.

‘H’ brings us up to date on Molly and Dorsett:

Kent Island 9/5 – Molly flew to the nest at 0625, fish-called a bit, then she flew away 20 minutes later. That was the last time she was seen at the nest. She was soon spotted on a nearby boat lift. In the evening, the cam focused for a long time on an osprey in the distance on a pole, but it was unclear if it was Molly.

Barnegat Light 9/5 – At 0735 Duke delivered a fish to Dorsett at the nest, and she flew to Duke’s perch to eat her breakfast. Dorsett did return to the nest a couple of times, but sightings of her were scant throughout the day. Dorsett arrived back at the nest early to wait for her much anticipated 7 p.m. dinner fish, but her dinner never arrived. As the sun was setting over the bay, Dorsett resigned herself to going to sleep hungry, and she spent the night perched on one of the camera braces.

Do you live near Cornell University at Ithaca NY? Have children aged 8-18? Check this out! What an amazing opportunity for young people. In the book, Lead! Finding your Voice a Chaotic World by Barry Dore, Tim Mackrill, talks about the opportunities he had as a young person to volunteer and learn about raptors. It changed his life and led him to create opportunities for young people through his charity Osprey Leadership Foundation.

This event at Cornell is another super opportunity to get young people involved who might become our future conservationists.

The seat eaglets were up for an early morning walk about and then back to the duckling resting position waiting for breakfast.

‘A’ comments on part of the day including the self-feeding of 31: “

At 15:38, as Lady is looking around in a very agitated manner at something near the nest tree, at about the same height as the nest, SE32 starts eating the food she has in her talons. He is giving this self-feeding thing a try, having closely watched his sister eating prey that looked the same as this (he was just TOO TOO funny – ducking down with his head under her tail to peer between her legs and watch her doing very well indeed at her first self-feeding).

SE32 pecks at the food a few times but all he can reach is a leg, and no matter how many times he picks it up, he cannot work out how to eat it. So he moves closer. SE31 is paying close attention to this – she has reached out for the food once or twice herself but is not in as good a position now as SE32 is. Lady is very upset by something and paying no attention to the food or the chicks. SE32 has moved further forward. He is up on his feet now, self-feeding on the meaty bit. Lady resuming feeding him, even though she continues to be distracted by something. SE32 remains right up on his feet while he takes the bites.

Shortly before 15:40 Lady resumes feeding SE31. SE32 turns and moves away from SE31 a little but then turns back to face the table and Lady. He just wanted space between himself and his sister. But he gets offered no bites. At 15:41:24 he tries unsuccessfully to steal a big bite, but overbalances and falls forward, correcting himself with his outstretched wings. Lady still feeds SE31. At 15:41:30, he tries to steal another bite. Again, he fails. The next bite, he grabs incredibly fast. No-one else had a chance. He got given the one after that, then his sister gets a bite. The one after that is a big piece and destined for SE32. He grabs it and works hard to swallow it.

Lady is still very distracted. Periodically, she gives SE32 a bite. Both eaglets have good crops now. At 15:42:34, SE32 grabs a really big piece. He swallows it with relative ease, as Lady doesn’t even bother trying to retrieve it from him. There is still an amazing amount of meat on this carcass. The two have eaten well. Both have good crops but both are still keen to keep eating. SE32 is very brave, diving for every bite and winning most of them, especially all of the really big pieces. Lady occasionally gives a bite to SE31, but she is not competing with SE32 and is largely just watching him grab and swallow.

At 15:44, SE32 grabs a large piece of meaty flesh with a longish leg and a foot attached!! He horked the lot with no trouble at all. By 15:44:30 he is back competing for and winning bites. Lady is feeding both eaglets plenty of food but overall, SE32 is getting the better of the feeding at this point. He is winning most of the bites that are competed for and Lady is offering him way more bites than she is SE31, who is sitting back a bit by now.

At 15:46, SE32 swallows the second leg and foot, also with flesh attached, though not as much as was attached to the first leg. Still, he swallows it without difficulty. Within 10 seconds, he is taking the last few bites from Lady and cleaning the table of leftovers. The feeding is over by 15:48. Both chicks have very large crops, and SE32 has already done a couple of small crop drops during the feeding to fit in extra food. That second piece of prey had a really large amount of flesh on it. The head was gone, but the body provided a great deal of food. Both eaglets have had plenty to eat today.

There may be more food – I will check. But they did well for the day – eventually – and both will go to bed with full crops. “

‘A’ reports on the Royal Albatross Chick, Manaaki: “GLY may have been in today to feed Manaaki off camera but we’re not sure. We know GLY has fed Manaaki behind the camera at least once recently. The chicks are a lot more mobile now and are doing a lot of exploring as they prepare to fledge. It is starting to get scary when Manaaki is off camera for six hours or more on occasion – we think he might have fledged and we missed it! He still has about a fortnight to go until he reaches 240 days, but of course at least four chicks have already fledged from the 33 at the colony and Manaaki is one of the oldest (and though he does have a lot of fluff remaining, QT did too). He has not done enough wingercising, in my opinion, and still needs to be doing a lot more practising. We need to see much better hovering, and face-planting is an undignified landing for an albatross. I think he has quite a lot of work to do before he is ready to fledge. Let’s hope he doesn’t leave before he is good and ready, but often, it is the winds that determine the timing. As with Lilibet (QT). “

Beautiful Gabby. What a lovely couple – I miss Samson. But life moves on and we have the most amazing memories of him. Gabby mourned last year and took her time selecting a new mate out of the many contenders. Let us hope that V3 is up to the task. He has big talons to fill.

Lady Hawk caught Gabby bringing in her breakfast.

No one is home. Louis, Dorcha, and Ludo are on their way with only Sparrowhawks visiting the nest. Look at this beautiful capture over the nest as the sun rises. Stunning.

Visiting Sparrowhawk.

We always need to be reminded, especially with there still being hot days in many parts of the world, of how we can help wildlife. Please read and keep them in mind. Water is essential. Water and some shade.

Let’s see how much you know about Condor numbers! (Answers below)

How many California Condors were alive on 6 September 2023? a) 208; b) 91; c) 214; d) 345; or e) 559?
How many California Condors live in the wild? a) 76; b) 345; c) 214; d) 93; or e) 54?
How many California Condors live wild in Central California? a) 93; b) 65; c) 214; d) 23; or e) 75.

Do you want to know more about the efforts to protect and grow the California Condor community? In 2022, the Ventana Wildlife Society commissioned a documentary to be made to introduce people to the Condors of the Big Sur. They are working on another film in 2023 called Condor Canyon. It isn’t finished but, for now, why not check, out Part 1 of the 2022 film. You can find the other segments on YT by doing a search or checking on the side panel.

Thank you so much for being with me today. Please take care. See you soon!

Thank you to the following for their notes, posts, videos, and streaming cams that helped me to write my blog today: “A, Geemeff, H’, PLO, 367 Collins Street by Mirvac, John Williams and Clywedog Osprey Group, Hawk Mountain, PSEG, Bywyd Gwylld Glaslyn, Alyth, Boulder County Fair Grounds, Dunrovin Ranch, Collins Marsh, Kent Island, Conserve Wildlife F of NJ, Cornell University Bird Lab Raptor Program, Sydney Sea Eagles, NEFL-AEF, Lady Hawk and NEFL-AEF, Geemeff and The Woodland Trust, Ventana Wildlife Society, and Durham Wildlife Trust.

Answers to the three question Condor number quiz: 1. The answer is e. 559 total number of Condors. 2. The answer is b. 345 live in the wild. 3. The answer is a. 93 live in the wild in central California.

Zoe eats a whopper, Ervie, and where are you, Rubus, darling?

26 November 2022

Good Morning Everyone,

The kittens thought it was about time that they got their pictures in the blog – again! It is almost impossible to actually call them kittens now. They are 4x the size they were when they arrived. That will be a month on Tuesday. If you look closely at Lewis, you will notice that his nose has some scratches. Those scratches are from his ‘sweet’ ‘never do anything wrong’ sister, Missy. Poor little, Lewis. She took a couple of nicks out of his left eye, too. Ah, it is always the quiet ones, eh, Lewis?

I am going to start off with some really good news. I know that any time we are feeling a little ‘low’, Ervie can always make us smile. Port Lincoln Osprey posted a video of Ervie enjoying a freshly caught fish at Delamere this morning. I wonder if he was out fishing with Dad?

Now for the worrisome. Rubus has not been seen since the 23rd when he was on the ridge of the building. There has been a break in the news and I just thought it was because Cilla had not been out and about but, turns out, Indigo has been seen and photographed but not our sweet little lad.

I have received a note from ‘J’ that included this announcement from Cilla Kinross. It says: “I am organising a bit of search tomorrow morning at 0830 with some locals. Not sure how many will turn up, but hopefully 3 or 4 so we can split up and have a good look for Rubus. The bird wil go to a raptor carer and if and when he’s returned, I’ll decide at that stage. Probably I would put him close to Indigo so easy for parents to find.”

This is not the news that we had hoped. Let us all get really positive and send that energy out to the grounds of Orange to help our wee lad.

I found this message from Cilla below the streaming cam: “NEWS 26th November 2022 1900h I had a good look around this morning. No sign of Rubus. I asked Security to keep an eye for him, especially if he was on the ground. Indigo was sitting quietly in the trees in Girinyalanha and I took some photos.”

At 1450, Indigo flew into the scrape box looking for leftovers and hoping for prey. He is big and strong and gorgeous.

Here is a video of Indigo arriving in the scrape box with prey!

Oh, what a darling Xavier is. He went into the scrape just to see how Indigo was making out with his prey. They are taking such good care and teaching Indigo such valuable lessons. Oh, I hope dear Rubus is found so that the family can be back together again soon.

Xavier you are the cutest!

It was certainly good news to see that Willow, Louis and Dorcha’s first fledgling of 2022 had been spotted in the same area as Paith from the Dyfi nest. There must be a message board somewhere for young osprey fledglings from the UK on good places to stop enroute to their winter vacation (or should I say their home for the next couple of years?).

Yesterday it was a bit of a feast at the Port Lincoln Osprey nest and this morning an extremely large flat fish (a flounder? they do have them in PL) appeared on the nest. Mum flew in when Dad arrived but Zoe took charge. Now, that fish was big enough to feed three but, it didn’t. Zoe ate every last bit of it. She worked on that fish for more than two hours!!!!!!!!! Mum gave up and went off to get her own. I can only imagine the number of fish Zoe’s mate is going to have to produce when she has a nest of osplets. Just think about it. I am not certain I have ever seen an osplet eat as much fish as our Zoe.

Mum waited for over an hour hoping to get some breakfast but, the fact is, Zoe does not share.

At one time there were gulls overhead and both Mum and Zoe were alarming.

No 16. The Red List. The White-fronted Goose

“Greater White-fronted Goose” by Rick Leche is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Oh, goodness. Isn’t that a beautiful goose? White-fronted geese are medium sized. The white face is set off by that taupe of the head and back, the splotched chest, and that orange bill of the Greenland geese with legs to match. On occasion, the bill can be pinkish – that of the Siberian birds. There is a fluffy white bottom under those grey-brown back and wing feathers. What is amazing is the ombre – going from the solid taupe head, to the lighter neck, then lighter still on the breast. Just imagine if someone took this into their hair salon and asked for the stylist to copy it! It would be quite stunning, actually. Females and males are similar while the juveniles lack the white face, the black barring, and their taupe colour is not as deep as that of the adults.

“Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) DSC_0139” by NDomer73 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

They breed in the cold of the Arctic tundra areas in the spring and summer. Greenland is one of the sites. In his entry, Gill Lewis writes, “This Greenland summer has seen her new brood hatch and grow. Her proud gaggle follow her, tail-waggling and beak-nibbling on the arctic tundra. A family, feeding and fattening.” In his entry, David Stroud said, “…she hatched six goslings and, with her mate, led them three kilometres up the steep valley sides and onto the lake-studded plateau used for brood-rearing and moulting.” Can you imagine, those wee ones following behind their Mum and walking upwards for 3 kilometres? It would be an incredible sight. They eat grasses, clover, grain, winter wheat and potatoes, according to the RSPB.

These lovely geese then fly and spend their winters in Ireland, the Orkneys, and Britain.

Why are these lovely waterfowl on such rapid decline? It is interesting and can be remedied. But, first. In 1982 shooting of White-fronted Geese in the UK was outlawed. Even so, their numbers have been falling rapidly. There are simply not enough youngsters to replace the adults and the cause is well known. The warming of the North Atlantic is the primary cause with its climatic changes and heavy snow falls. Those snows are arriving earlier and earlier at a time when the geese need feed before laying their eggs. So little food. One other cause, the one that can be remedied and is being done so for some species is wetlands. Instead of draining land so that humans can take over more and more vast tracks of it, we need to stop and rebuild the wetlands that are required for all our waterfowl. Whether or not anyone will find a way to halt or even slow the warming of our planet with its land and oceans is another story – a particularly grim one. So sad, these geese have been flying back and forth from the Arctic to the UK for 2 million years – just think about it. And, oh, how quickly we have ruined the entire landscape for them – in a blink of that time.

So when rewilding and news of the creation of wetlands comes to your ears, stand up in support of it – and remember the White-fronted Goose when you do.

“Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) DSC_0132” by NDomer73 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

In the News:

“Long-Billed Curlews” by FotoGrazio is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

The Curlew. These amazing shorebirds with their extremely long curved beaks are also in rapid decline. Oh, how I love reading these short Country Diary Posts. I hope you do, too.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/25/country-diary-a-cloud-of-curlews-carries-me-away

Thank you so much for being with me this morning. Let us all collectively send our warmest and most positive wishes to Orange so that Rubus might be found safely and be cared for as he needs. Take care all. See you soon.

Thank you to the following for the posts and streaming cams that make up my screen captures: Port Lincoln Osprey, Port Lincoln Osprey FB, Orange Australia Falcon FB, Charles Sturt Falcon Cam and Cilla Kinross, Openverse, and The Guardian.

Tag Archives: Port Lincoln

Day 5 Welcome to Winter…Girri is a BIG girl!

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Sea Eaglet fledges…late Saturday in Bird World

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Sunday in Bird World

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The many things we are grateful for…Thursday in Bird World

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Sunday in Bird World

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Wednesday in Bird World

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Wednesday in Bird World

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V3 is home…Wednesday in Bird World

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PLO has their first egg…Wednesday in Bird World

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Zoe eats a whopper, Ervie, and where are you, Rubus, darling?

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